So, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft was very close to take over Nokia, but that the talks eventually broke down, probably beyond repair - at least for now. The reasons the talks broke down illustrate something that I have repeatedly tried to make clear for a long time now: Nokia isn't doing well.

MeeGo was a disastrous mess of contradictory objectives and unfilled promises being developed at a snail's pace. Elop and the board killed it because he had no choice. He is not insane or stupid. Nokia's senior management failed to come to consensus on design issues in time and failed to allocate needed resources in time. By the time Elop got there MeeGo was a mess that Nokia didn't have enough money to save.